Gobbledygeek episode 327, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi – Saving What We Love (feat. Eric Sipple),” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

This is not going to go the way you think. Indeed, in a rare occurrence, the stars (and their wars) have aligned to allow Paul, Arlo, and their Avatar Returns co-host Eric Sipple to agree that Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi is one of the best blockbusters in years. The gang discusses why that is, including the surprising directions in which writer-director Rian Johnson takes the story, its iconic imagery, another rousing John Williams score, how it strengthens the weaknesses of past Star Wars films, and one hell of a performance from Mark Hamill. And, yes, they tackle the fandom’s baffling response to the film.

Next: Gobbledygeek returns in 2018 with a continuation of Paul and Arlo’s Four-Color Flashback discussion of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s Y: The Last Man. This time, they’ll tackle the penultimate collection, Vol. 9: The Motherland.